Written Answers Wednesday 18 November 2009

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to tackle the problem of people being trafficked into or within Scotland for sex, particularly in the lead-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28500 on 6 November 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Community Councils

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the SNP manifesto commitment, what action it has taken to progress its proposal to provide each community of 10,000 people with £30,000 for local spending.

John Swinney: In April 2008, the Scottish Government and COSLA made a joint commitment to community empowerment which culminated in the launch of the Community Empowerment Action Plan earlier this year.

  In relation to community councils, a Scottish Government Community Council Working Group (CCWG) was invited to identify expanded roles and responsibilities for community councils. They found that many, in discussion and agreement with their local authority, already undertook a variety of roles and responsibilities, including directing a portion of local spend, for example arranging minor repairs of certain local authority amenities, control of common good funds and community hall management/maintenance. However, in order for this to be more widespread, the capacity of community councils would require strengthening.

  As part of their remit, and to address the development of capacity, the CCWG produced a Model Scheme of Establishment of Community Councils and Code of Conduct for Community Councillors. Adoption of these documents is key to the building of capacity as they will help to establish greater consistency of operational arrangements and a culture of accountability.

  The Scottish Government is also funding a series of Community Council Pilot Projects. In partnership with COSLA and the Association of Scottish Community Councils (ASCC), we have developed to date three out of six and another three are in train. The pilots will focus on budget management, potential asset management and community council elections.

  Along with our key partners therefore, we are continuing to raise the profile and effectiveness of community councils throughout Scotland to enable them to build their capacity and to allow them to engage as key participants in local decision making and delivery.

Defence

Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the Working Group on Scotland Without Nuclear Weapons.

Nicola Sturgeon: The working group has spent the last 18 months considering the issues in its remit, all of which centred around the removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish soil. The group’s remit and its membership are listed in its report. The group met five times between April 2008 and April 2009. Minutes of each of these meetings have been placed on the working group section of the Scottish Government website. A final editing meeting took place on 22 June 2009.

  The total cost of running the working group was £392.30. Group members were not paid expenses or reimbursed for their time.

  The government is grateful to the group for the degree of scrutiny and rigour that it has brought to the issues and the report will inform ongoing work on the National Conversation.

  The Scottish Government has today published both the working group’s report and the Scottish Government’s response. They are available on the Scottish Government website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk.

  Copies have also been placed in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. numbers 49688 and 49689).

Fire Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, following the flooding in the north east on 1 November 2009, whether it considers that fire and rescue services are acting in accordance with their own risk assessments and standard operating procedures in committing personnel to these situations.

Fergus Ewing: The responsibility for ensuring that staff in a fire and rescue service follow instructions, including the service’s standard operating instructions for dealing with incidents, lies with that service.

  The Operational Assessment of Service Delivery review carried out by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Advisory Unit in 2008 identified that each service in Scotland had its own regime for reviewing incidents to learn lessons including debriefs.

  We would therefore expect that any failure to comply with standard operating procedures would be picked up by the service concerned during their debrief process and lessons learned implemented.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its consultations have received input from Gypsy/Traveller groups or their representatives in each year since 2001.

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its working groups include representation from Gypsy/Travellers or their representative organisations.

Alex Neil: We are unable to answer this question as the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconvene its Strategic Group on Gypsies/Travellers, given the poor progress reported by the Equal Opportunities Committee.

Alex Neil: The Strategic Group on Gypsies/Travellers was set up in 2006 as a short-term working group. The priorities it identified were reflected in the Scottish Government Race Equality Statement , published on 8 December 2008. We are working with partners to deliver the commitments in the statement.

  We are committed to engaging with Gypsy/Traveller communities and to seeking solutions to the barriers they face. Our forthcoming race equality conference events will provide a further opportunity to discuss issues affecting Gypsy/Traveller communities and how to overcome them.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to Gypsy/Travellers and their representative organisations since May 2007 (a) in total and (b) specifically to support capacity-building.

Alex Neil: The following funding has been provided to projects representing the interests of Gypsies/Travellers. All of these projects seek to build the capacity of communities or groups representing the interests of Gypsies/Travellers.

  

 Name of Organisation
 Year
 Amount Since May 2007
 Project


 Scottish Traveller Education Programme
 2007-10
£235,000
 To work with Scottish education authorities in promoting and developing inclusive educational approaches for both settled and mobile Gypsy/Traveller families.


 Save the Children Young Gypsy/Traveller Project
 2007-08
£40,000
 The project worked with a team of young people from the Gypsy/Traveller community to run awareness raising events and develop an educational pack for delivery to education authorities and other organisations seeking to reduce discrimination.


 Gypsy/Traveller Education and Information Project
 2007-08
£39,788
 Provide information, advice, awareness and support to Gypsies/Travellers, the settled community, local authorities and the Police and the promote culture and history of the travelling community.


 Gypsy/Traveller Education and Information Project - Gypsy/Traveller Advice and Support Project
 2008-11 
£105,000
 To develop an information and advice service for Gypsies/Travellers to build a peer-led approach to information and advice around housing/site options. Providing direct access to legal advice and build the capacity of the community to understand their rights, how to challenge decisions and develop a community response to challenges.


 Scottish Traveller Education Programme - e-learning community 
 2009-11
£125,000
 To develop an e-learning community for Scotland’s Gypsy/Traveller children which will support learning and teaching by enabling mobile children and their teachers to stay in touch during the travelling season.


 Article 12 – Young Gypsy/Traveller Project 
 2009-11
£125,500
 To work with a group of 30 young Gypsies/Travellers to develop key personal and life skills which will allow them to achieve their fullest potential and maximise their skills. 



  In addition to the funding listed, we have allocated a total of £30,000 over 2007-09 to Hilton Associates to deliver a project which works with Gypsy/Traveller groups to help in building capabilities within the community. The overall outcomes include more confidence in skills areas, including collaborative working, facilitation skills, planning and managing projects and governance.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has allocated to improving the position of Gypsy/Travellers in line with the commitment set out in its December 2008 Race Equality Statement .

Alex Neil: The following table sets out resources committed to projects taking forward the commitments made in the Race Equality Statement .

  

 Race Statement Commitment
 Amount Allocated
 Date
 Project


 To develop and implement an education strategy for Gypsies/Travellers.
£125,000
 2009-11
 The Scottish Traveller Education Project e-learning community for Scotland’s Gypsy/Traveller children.


 Meeting the accommodation needs of Gypsies/Travellers through providing direct support to local authorities to develop Gypsy/Traveller transit sites. 
£81,375
 2008-11 
£2 million over 2008-10 was made available to local authorities seeking to improve existing sites or create new transit sites. Only one local authority submitted a bid for a transit site. The Scottish Government provided £81,375 to support South Ayrshire Council to develop a new transit site in Ayr. An issue has arisen with the transit site location and we are currently considering how to support South Ayrshire Council and other local authorities to meet transit site need in their areas. 


 To support community development work with the Gypsies/Travellers communities, aimed at laying the ground work for the eventual emergence of representative bodies for the communities. 
£30,000
 2007-09 
 Hilton Associates community development project has been funded to work with Gypsy/Traveller groups to help in building capabilities within the community.


 To develop further engagement work with young Gypsies/Travellers.
£125,500
 2009-11 
 Article 12 will work with a group of 30 young Gypsies/Travellers to develop key personal and life skills which will allow them to achieve their fullest potential and maximise their skills. Gypsies/Travellers are disadvantaged by the relative absence of community-led groups or associations, the project could provide the opportunity for the youths of the community to form such a group without previous prejudice becoming a problem.

Gypsies/Travellers

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what response it has received from the UK Government to its request that Scottish Gypsies/Travellers be established as a minority ethnic group in the Equality Bill, as set out in the letter dated 26 June 2007 from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government; what discussions have since taken place on this matter, and what further actions it will take to ensure that Scottish Gypsy/Travellers are accorded this legal status.

Alex Neil: The subject matter of the Race Relations Act 1976 (as amended) is reserved to the UK Government. Any change to such legislation is therefore a matter for the UK Government. Interpretation of race relations legislation is a matter for the tribunals or courts. The Deputy First Minister wrote to Ruth Kelly MP, then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 June 2007, raising the concerns of Scottish Gypsies/Travellers around legal status. We have not had any response to that letter.

  However, the Scottish Government recognises Gypsies/Travellers as minority ethnic communities and we have stated this in our Race Equality Scheme and Race Equality Statement published on 8 December 2008. Therefore, for all practical purposes, Gypsies/Travellers count alongside all Scotland’s minority ethnic communities in the Scottish Government’s work to tackle racism and promote race equality. We also encourage other public bodies to adopt this approach.

Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have myasthenia gravis, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The exact number of patients who have myasthenia gravis in Scotland is not available centrally, however an estimate of this can be provided from a sample of Scottish General Practices. It is estimated that the number of patients who consulted a member of the practice team for myasthenia gravis in Scotland during 2005-06 to 2007-08 is 1,039.

  The majority of patients with myasthenia gravis are more likely to be treated in a primary care setting. A national estimate can be provided based on the number of patients consulting a general practitioner or practice-employed nurse for myasthenia at general practice participating in Practice Team Information (PTI). The PTI data are obtained from a sample of Scottish General Practice – the sample covers the full range of age, sex and deprivation classes existing in Scotland. The PTI sample is only representative at national level, so NHS board-level estimates cannot be provided.

Health

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects that the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland clinical standards for neurological health services will be published.

Shona Robison: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) intends to launch the clinical standards for neurological health services formally in January 2010. They are currently available on the NHS QIS website to allow those with an interest in neurological services to begin to familiarise themselves with their content.

Higher Education

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £25 million invested in developing the Beechwood site in Inverness will be matched by similar investments in other UHI Millennium Institute sites across the Highlands and Islands.

Fiona Hyslop: Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has earmarked £25 million for developing the Beechwood site in Inverness because of the wider economic benefits it sees for the region. Any applications for funding at other UHI Millennium Institute sites would be considered by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and HIE on a case-by-case basis. SFC and HIE are currently finalising a package of support for UHI as part of a prioritised development plan which UHI wishes to take forward. This includes match funding for infrastructure projects at Thurso and Oban which, when combined with European Regional Development and UHI funds, will result in an investment of around £10 million.

  The SFC has also allocated UHI higher education formula capital funding of £7.4 million for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11, and it is a matter for UHI to allocate this to its academic partners. UHI’s academic partners, which are funded by SFC, have been allocated further education formula capital funding of £7.7 million for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available to housing associations to assist with the incorporation of microgeneration schemes in housing developments.

Alex Neil: Under the provisions of Scottish Planning Policy SPP6 Renewable Energy, housing projects above a specified size will generally be required to include appropriate micro-regeneration technologies. Housing associations must comply with such planning requirements. The Housing Association Grant, awarded to housing associations, takes into account the necessary costs of compliance with SPP6.

Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to concerns in the housing association sector that increasing fluctuations in energy prices add to the financial pressures that it faces.

Alex Neil: Energy costs represent only a relatively small proportion of housing associations’ overall operating costs, but energy cost fluctuations will also have an impact on the financial position of housing association tenants. The Scottish Government is working with associations to address energy efficiency and fuel cost issues, through the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, the Energy Assistance Package and in accordance with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009.

  The Scottish Housing Regulator recently published guidance on business planning for housing associations to ensure that they review and update their assumptions to reflect the changing economic environment.

Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage the work of housing co-operatives.

Alex Neil: The housing co-operative sector is part of the Registered Social Landlord (RSL) sector. The individual organisations within the sector each establish their own vision and business plan to suit their specific circumstances. The Scottish Government supports the work of the sector by investing in the provision of new affordable housing, and in other ways. Co-ops also benefit from regulation by the SHR which offers lenders assurances that the RSL has to meet nationally agreed performance standards.

Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it envisages the housing co-operative sector developing.

Alex Neil: The housing co-operative sector is part of the Registered Social Landlord (RSL) sector. The individual organisations within the sector each establish their own vision and business plan to suit their specific circumstances. The Scottish Government sees a continued role for the RSL sector in the management and development of affordable housing in Scotland.

Housing

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a family home gaining protection under provisions of the draft Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill could be put at risk in the case where sequestration follows a trust deed, due to the action of an objecting creditor or the trust deed proposal failing later in the process.

Fergus Ewing: If measures contained in the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill were introduced, it would be possible for sequestration to follow a trust deed where either it fails to become protected due to the action of an objecting creditor or as a result of the trust deed failing later in the process. This is no different from the current legislation.

  Currently, the family home is at risk in all protected trust deeds and all sequestrations. The debtor would not be worse off under the provisions in the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill.

  By allowing a trust deed which excludes specific assets, in particular, the family home to become protected, the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill will introduce protection for the family home in those cases where exclusion is appropriate and does not disadvantage the creditors.

  Not all protected trust deeds will exclude the family home. This proposal will allow insolvency practitioners to assess the amount of the equity in the family home at the beginning of the trust deed and calculate its net worth to the general body of creditors after all costs are met. Where the equity is negligible or where the trust deed will produce a fair return to creditors from other assets or contributions, the trustee will have the flexibility to propose a trust deed to creditors which excluded the family home. The proposal in the bill does not change the ability of creditors to object to the trust deed. If creditors object, the debtor is no worse off than before and can suggest an alternative trust deed or apply for sequestration where the family home would be included.

  This measure will make use of the knowledge and professionalism of insolvency practitioners by allowing them to guide debtors into solutions that are better targeted to their circumstances. The debtor will know at the outset that their home is safe from unsecured creditors, as long as they continue to comply with the terms of their trust deed. However, failure to comply may result in their sequestration and their home would be at risk.

Justice

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering proposing amendments to the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill to bring Scots law into line with clause 14 of the Policing and Crime Bill for England and Wales, which is directed in particular at the problem of trafficking and will make it a strict liability offence to pay for sex with someone who is subjected to force.

Kenny MacAskill: This is a matter which the government will consider in the light of the Justice Committee’s Stage 1 Report on the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill. We will conclude those considerations ahead of Stage 2 of the Bill and announce them in due course.

Police

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of establishing a new Scottish Policing Board has been to date; how much the associated project team has cost to establish, and from where the funding has come.

Kenny MacAskill: There have been no additional costs associated with the establishment of the Scottish Policing Board. The project team required no new resource. It was drawn from existing members of staff from the Scottish Government, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), COSLA, the Police Authorities’ Conveners’ Forum, the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) and the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA).

Prison Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the population of sentenced female prisoners was as of 30 June 2008 and how many of them were incarcerated for (a) non-violent and (b) violent offences.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  There were 232 convicted female adults and 26 convicted female young offenders in custody on 30 June 2008. It is not possible to ascertain how many were incarcerated for non-violent and violent offences.

Procurement

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed whether more small and medium-sized enterprises are now on approved lists of public sector contractors as a consequence of changes in policy.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not maintain or monitor approved lists of public contractors.

  All Scottish Government contract notices are advertised on the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal (PCS). This portal contains contract notices for public sector organisations across Scotland and there are 41,134 contractors registered with 182 organisations actively advertising. Three thousand, eight hundred and four tenders have been advertised to date: 1,064 OJEU tenders; 1,618 low value tenders published directly on the portal and 1,122 OJEU imported from European Journal.

Public Sector Staff

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28176 by Jim Mather on 6 November 2009, on what date the chairs of public bodies were contacted regarding a waiver of bonuses by chief executives.

John Swinney: I wrote to the chairs of non-departmental public bodies and public corporations on 5 June 2009, asking them to invite their chief executive to consider waiving, on a voluntary basis, some or all of any bonus that might be proposed during 2009-10. The decision on whether or not to waive any bonus is a personal decision for that chief executive.

  In my letter to chairs of 5 June 2009, I made clear that any bonuses waived should remain within the organisation for use in addressing other objectives.

Queen's Speech

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legislative consent motions it will lodge in the Parliament in connection with the legislative programme of the UK Government to be announced in the Queen’s Speech on 18 November 2009.

Bruce Crawford: In accordance with the Sewel Convention, the UK Parliament does not legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

  This is an important part of the devolution settlement, which acknowledges the special constitutional position of the Scottish Parliament and the democratic mandate conferred on this Parliament by the people of Scotland. In the view of the Scottish Government, the Sewel Convention will remain an essential part of the constitution of the UK for as long as the UK Parliament retains its current powers and functions in relation to Scotland.

  In the normal course of business, legislation on devolved matters should be scrutinised and determined in the Scottish Parliament. There may however be situations in which it is helpful and appropriate for legislation dealing with devolved matters to be taken forward at Westminster.

  The Scottish Government is committed to assessing opportunities of this kind on their merits and to working closely and constructively with the UK Government, on a case-by-case basis, to deliver legislation which best meets Scotland’s needs. The Scottish Government is equally committed to working with the UK Government to pursue opportunities to extend devolved competence.

  The formal consent of the Scottish Parliament is required in relation to all proposals for Westminster primary legislation on devolved matters, including alterations to devolved competence, in accordance with Chapter 9B of Standing Orders.

  Within the legislative programme announced today by the UK Government, we have identified and agreed a number of potential opportunities to legislate for the benefit of Scotland on matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or which alter legislative or executive competence.

  The UK bills which we currently expect to give rise to Legislative Consent Motions (LCMs) in the Scottish Parliament cover:

  Bribery – to modernise the law on bribery by creating two new offences covering the bribery of foreign public officials and corporate liability for negligently failing to prevent bribery.

  Crime and Security - to extend regulation of the private security industry in Scotland in a manner which is consistent with analogous new provisions for England and Wales.

  Energy – to support movement by the UK to a low carbon economy, including through the funding of up to four Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) commercial-scale demonstration projects.

  Financial Services - to promote stability, efficiency and competition in financial markets, including through the provision to the public of advice and education in relation to financial matters.

  Flood and Water Management - to ensure clarity in relation to the regulation of cross border reservoirs, in the context of measures to better protect England and Wales from flooding.

  The Scottish Government will, in due course, lodge memoranda and motions for these bills, once they have been introduced in the UK Parliament. It will then be for the Scottish Parliament to determine whether to give or withhold consent.

  In addition, three UK bills are being carried over from the 2008-09 session. LCMs for these bills have already been lodged in the Scottish Parliament.

  Child Poverty – to provide statutory underpinning for the UK commitment to eradicate child poverty by 2020, and to place new duties on Scottish ministers in relation to the Scottish child poverty strategy; the new Child Poverty Commission (CPC), and the appointment of a commissioner to the CPC.

  Constitutional Reform and Governance - to place management of the Civil Service on a statutory basis and place a reporting duty on the First Minister in relation to the employment of Special Advisers. The bill also revokes the devolution of competence which enabled the Scottish Parliament to legislate in relation to human rights claims against the devolved administrations ("Somerville"). It maintains the effect of that legislation and extends similar arrangements to Wales and Northern Ireland.

  Equality – to revise and extend the law on discrimination and to enable Scottish ministers to make regulations to assist disabled people in the adaption of common parts of buildings. A Scottish Government consultation on the extension to Scotland of a further socio-economic duty concluded on 26 October 2009 and will inform consideration of this aspect to the bill.

  It is possible that further opportunities to legislate for Scotland by means of Legislative Consent Motion may occur in connection with other UK bills, including private member’s bills. Any additional proposals of this kind, together with any relevant amendments to the government bills listed above, will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament as they arise, in line with the requirements of Standing Orders.

Rape

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each rape crisis centre has received from the Rape Crisis Specific Fund in each of the last three years.

Alex Neil: Rape crisis centres have received funding as follows from the Rape Crisis Specific Fund in the last three years.

  

 Rape Crisis Centre
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 Rape and Abuse Support (Aberdeen)
 86,337
 48,950
 48,231


 Argyll and Bute Rape Crisis
 0
 50,000
 50,000


 Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre (WRASAC) (Dundee)
 50,000
 50,000
 50,000


 Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
 50,000
 50,000
 50,000


 Glasgow Rape Crisis Centre
 50,000
 50,000
 50,000


 Rape Counselling and Resource Centre (Kilmarnock)
 50,000
 50,000
 50,000


 Lanarkshire Rape Crisis Centre
 85,000
 50,000
 50,000


 Perth and Kinross Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
 0
 50,000
 50,000


 Western Isles Rape Crisis Centre
 80,000
 38,232
 50,000


 Central Scotland Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Centre
 50,000
 49,033
 50,000


 Rape and Abuse Line (Dingwall)
 47,484
 50,000
 50,000


 South West Rape Crisis and Sexual Assault Centre (Dumfries)
 50,000
 50,000
 50,000


 Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre
 50,000
 50,000
 50,000

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27997 by Jim Mather on 4 November 2009, whether it will list the (a) dates of and (b) signatories to correspondence between its ministers and Welsh Assembly Government ministers about funds in Ofgem’s Fossil Fuel Levy account.

Jim Mather: There has been no correspondence between Scottish ministers and Welsh Assembly Government ministers on the subject of the Fossil Fuel Levy surplus.

Rural Affairs

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the transfer of support for community services and facilities projects from the Rural Priorities scheme to the LEADER programme will be matched by a transfer of funding and, if so, what funding will be transferred in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be available to the LEADER programme in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12 to support community services and facilities projects; whether it will be shared between regions, and, if so, how.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will handle applications to the Rural Priorities scheme for support for community services and facilities projects made before its announcement that such applications are to be transferred to the LEADER programme and whether fresh applications to the programme will be required.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the LEADER programme is now able to process applications for community services and facilities projects and, if not, when will it be able to do so.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will provide the increase in funding through the LEADER programme announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total increase will be in funding through the LEADER programme announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the increased funding for the LEADER programme announced in its press release of 25 September 2009 will be passed on to local action groups or administered by the Scottish Executive.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects agreement from the European Union on the transfer of funds to the LEADER programme as announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to implement the increase in funding through the LEADER programme announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether projects previously allocated funding from the LEADER programme will be able to reapply under the new arrangements announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discretion LEADER local action groups will have to vary the percentage of funding when match funding is in place under the new arrangements announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many different funds LEADER offices will administer under the new arrangements announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what different funds LEADER offices will administer under the new arrangements announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how the eligibility criteria for funding from the LEADER programme will be changed to reflect the loss of other funds under the new arrangements announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of LEADER programme funding will be available for staffing costs under the new arrangements announced in its press release of 25 September 2009.

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in taking forward the intention, announced at the Rural Gathering on 25 September 2009, to pursue transfer of the measure dealing with supporting community facilities from the Rural Priorities scheme to the LEADER programme and increase the potential LEADER intervention rate.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government supports the LEADER approach of local projects determined by local decision making. In relation to the proposed change to the delivery mechanism for community facilities support to LEADER, Local Action Groups (LAGs) support the strategic direction but have made representations concerning certain practical issues.

  My immediate aim is to support applicants and potential applicants. As a transitional arrangement, to ensure continuity of support for delivery of community facilities, new applications should continue to be submitted through the Rural Priorities framework. Appropriate procedures for handling these applications are currently being worked up by officials. Applicants who have already submitted applications through Rural Priorities will not require to submit a fresh application.

  The amount of funding to transfer and the timing has yet to be determined. It is intended that any funding transferred would be added to the current LEADER allocation. There is currently no intention to change the process under which LAGs administer LEADER funding.

  I also wish to address some of the match funding concerns of applicants during the current economic position and help get more good projects off the ground. I have therefore decided to increase the potential funding support available from LEADER for new projects from up to 50% to up to 90% from 1 January 2010. LAGs will still maintain the discretion to vary the rate as they see fit. Projects that have already been approved will not be able retrospectively to apply for an increased rate. I have decided that, initially, this increase should operate for a trial period of one year.

Scottish Government Finance

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last five years, broken down by consultants.

John Swinney: The following table provides the amount spent by core Scottish Government areas from 1 December 2008 to 30 September 2009, since the current multi-contractor collaborative framework contract for executive search and selection services has been in place. Reliable information is not held centrally prior to that date.

  Total Expenditure 1 December 2008 to 30 September 2009

  

 Hudson Global Resourcing
£76,625


 Munro Consulting Ltd
£30,741


 Penna plc
£15,000


 Total
£122,366

Sex Offenders

James Kelly (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate the Child Sex Offender Community Disclosure Scheme in Tayside and when it expects the evaluation to be completed.

Kenny MacAskill: The Tayside Community Disclosure Pilot will be subject to an independent evaluation to assess its effectiveness. Following an open competition, the contract for the evaluation has been awarded to Ipsos MORI. The evaluation will be completed by 31 August 2010.

Sheltered Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided to housing associations for the development of (a) sheltered and (b) very sheltered housing in each year since 1999.

Alex Neil: The following table provides details of the units approved and the associated grant approved for the development of sheltered and very sheltered housing from the Affordable Housing Investment Programme since 1999. The grant approved figure will not necessarily have been paid out in that financial year depending on the timing of approval.

  

 Year of Approval
 Sheltered
 Very Sheltered


 Units Approved
 Grant Approved (£)
 Units Approved
 Grant Approved (£)


 1999-2000
 84
 3,336,389
 168
 6,806,520


 2000-01
 17
 611,438
 189
 9,138,179


 2001-02
 56
 2,488,319
 117
 6,683,069


 2002-03
 31
 1,793,976
 62
 3,619,824


 2003-04
 137
 6,015,830
 78
 4,403,497


 2004-05
 87
 6,170,377
 111
 5,795,745


 2005-06
 111
 9,683,925
 167
 11,801,069


 2006-07
 123
 9,886,149
 146
 12,480,929


 2007-08
 63
 6,636,062
 124
 6,577,195


 2008-09
 35
 2,432,591
 73
 7,401,158



  It should be noted that our systems do not code the information in the format of sheltered and very sheltered, however the figures above show units approved which are classed as sheltered if they are supported accommodation and very sheltered if they are supported with residential care provided.

Sheltered Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) sheltered and (b) very sheltered housing units have been developed in each year since 1999.

Alex Neil: The following table details how many housing association units were grant assisted from the Affordable Housing Investment Programme.

  

 Year of Approval
 Sheltered Units Approved
 Very Sheltered Units Approved


 1999-2000
 84
 168


 2000-01
 17
 189


 2001-02
 56
 117


 2002-03
 31
 62


 2003-04
 137
 78


 2004-05
 87
 111


 2005-06
 111
 167


 2006-07
 123
 146


 2007-08
 63
 124


 2008-09
 35
 73



  It should be noted that our systems do not code the information in the format of sheltered and very sheltered, however the figures above show units approved which are classed as sheltered if they are supported accommodation and very sheltered if they are supported with residential care provided.

  The total number of sheltered and very sheltered units provided by all social housing providers can be found on the published statistics:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/SpecialNeeds.

  It should be noted that this information only goes back to 2001. We do not hold information for the years 1999-2001.

Sheltered Housing

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage the development of more (a) sheltered and (b) very sheltered housing units.

Alex Neil: All local authorities publish Local Housing Strategies (LHSs). They supplement their LHS with an annual Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP), which sets out how they plan to prioritise for delivery of objectives set out in their LHS. These are the key documents for setting out priorities for Affordable Housing Investment Programme (AHIP) at the local level. The SHIPs provide the basis for targeting the AHIP and aid prioritisation where there are competing demands on resources. Any potential project for sheltered and very sheltered housing units would require to be identified through this process.

  As part of the Scottish Government’s AHIP, we fund a range of provision for clients with particular housing needs. These include the provision of sheltered and very sheltered housing, the provision of supported accommodation and adaptations to allow people to stay in their own home when circumstances change. These new homes are generally required to meet Housing for Varying Needs standards, which ensure that the housing is designed to allow it to continue as far as possible to meet the changing needs of the occupant.

  The Scottish Government also supports the Telecare initiative to enable people to live at home for longer as their needs change, and the Supporting People Demonstrator projects (through the Scottish Government Joint Improvement Team).

Young Carers

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young carers’ assessments have been carried out in the last year, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: The information is not held centrally.

  The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, as amended by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 ("the 2002 Act"), gives substantial and regular carers, whether or not the carer is a child, the right to request an assessment of their ability to care. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, as amended by the 2002 Act, gives substantial and regular carers of a child with disabilities, whether or not the carer is a child, the right to request an assessment of their ability to care.

  The guidance on NHS Carer Information Strategies requires that they include measures to identify and support young carers. The strategies are funded by £9 million over three years.

  The Carers Strategy for Scotland, which will include a substantial "lift-out" section on young carers, will highlight good practice in the carrying out of young carers’ assessments. It will promote the dovetailing of assessments under the Getting it Right for Every Child approach with young carer assessments. The strategy will also promote the identification of young carers, and support to young carers, in schools and other mainstream services. The strategy will be published in 2010.